“A screenwriter friend of mine said your number one goal is to get to the end. So write it fast; don’t look back. If you have to have characters yak about something and you don’t have a solution, do it anyway and let it suck. Then go back over it in a couple of weeks, and you’ll be much clearer on what’s strong and what’s not strong and then attack the ones that are too verbose. At least you’ll have a laundry list of things the audience needs to know—but don’t hang up on finding the visual solution and not move forward on your screenplay.”
Oscar-winning writer/director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille)
Interview with Peter N. Chumo II
creative screenwriting magazine, Novemeber/December 2004
Recap:
—Write it fast
—Don’t look back
—Let it suck
—Move forward
Nice and to the point about something I’ve beaten myself up about too much in the past: write the first draft fast, don’t worry if it’s great and don’t stop to rewrite until that draft is done.
@Louis— What’s the old adage? “Writing is rewriting.” Everybody works a little differently, so it’s fun to flip through old magazines and look for quotes that jump out. Glad Mr. Bird’s advice (via a friend, a magazine, and this blog) was helpful for you. Onward.